Tax Time, happiness, and Donald Duck

Jack Dikian

April 2012

Just a few days ago it was Tax Day in the United States. In fact since 1955, for those living in the United States, Tax Day has typically fallen on April 15. So what you might ask. After all, you’re going to receive what you have overpaid in taxes throughout the year. Last year, for instance the Internal Revenue Service refunded $300 billion, or 25% of total monies collected. More than 80% of the 143 million returns filed resulted in a refund.

And even though paying more in taxes during the year than one actually owes amounts to an interest-free loan to the government, insights from behavioral economists suggest that many people, particularly lower-income Americans, use the tax system to force themselves to save. It shouldn’t surprise too many people that the Government is looking for ways to take advantage of what has been called “saveable moments” So it seems, for some families, tax time is a good time.

The other thing, filing a federal tax return wasn’t always an ingrained habit as it is these days. Most middle-class Americans didn't have to before World War II. The Revenue Act of 1942 made 15 million more people eligible to pay taxes. The Government explained this to the masses by commissioning Disney to make a short animated film using Donald Duck (click link below) that explained how to fill out a simple tax return, and why paying income taxes was so important.

Being a single drake with three dependents apparently got him a pretty sweet tax rate in 1942: Donald pays $13 in taxes on his $2,501 gross income. And this wasn’t just about Donald receiving a return but importantly, this was a propaganda cartoon with Donald exhorting people to pay their taxes on time or else risk giving aid and comfort to the Nazis. It was wartime after all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=00u6qUelp6c

Mindfulness 5 4 3 2 1

Jack Dikian

April 2012

Five Four Three Two One Mindfulness

Mindfulness, also awareness or a path to enlightenment meditation according to the teaching of the Buddha can be traced back to the Upanishads, part of Hindu scriptures and a treatise on the Vedas.

And modern clinical psychology and psychiatry have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on the concept of mindfulness typically referring to a psychological quality that involves bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis, and/or paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally.

What’s 5 4 3 2 1

Think about a time when you are overcome with restlessness, feeling too distracted, unable to focus on anything, overwhelmed, and/or confused. This can be at work, at a conference, at home, on the train… perhaps the 5 4 3 2 1 method can help.

Five:

Relax and focus on 5 objects around you. These could be buildings, windows, pictures, clouds,. Consider their shape, colors, consider how they relate to each other, are they geometric, symmetric, follow their lines all along trying to keep your mind from wandering off into thoughts. The Buddha said, "In seeing, only seeing." That's the essence of this part of the exercise.

Four:

Now do the same with hearing. You can close your eyes if you're in a place where that would be appropriate. Try and listen to 4 different sounds. This might be the quiet hum of an air conditioner, the roaring wheels of a train, the distant noise of traffic, a birds chirping high above. The Buddha said, "In hearing, only hearing." That's the essence of this exercise.

Three:

Now try and focus on 3 bodily sensations. This might be the pressure of the chair against your back. The tight fit of your shoe against your feet, the soft stream of air through your hair, the warmth of the sun on your face. The Buddha said, "In feeling, only feeling." That's the essence of this exercise.

Two:

Now, try and focus on 2 odors you can smell. It might be the remains of the perfume you used when leaving home, a snack, freshly cut grass.

One:

And finally focus on a taste in your mouth.

I Think, Therefore I Eat Junk Food: Psychology, Beliefs, Philosophy and Health

Jack Dikian

April 2012

Descartes is often regarded as the first thinker to emphasize the use of reason to develop the natural sciences. For him the philosophy was a thinking system that embodied all knowledge, and expressed philosophy like a tree, of which Metaphysics is the root, Physics the trunk, and all the other sciences the branches that grow out of this trunk. And he attempted to arrive at a fundamental set of principles that one can know as true without any doubt.

Dualism (the assumption that mental phenomena are, in some respects non-physical, or that the mind and body are distinct) is closely associated with the philosophy of Descartes which holds that the mind is a nonphysical substance. Descartes clearly identified the mind with consciousness and self-awareness and distinguished this from the brain as the seat of intelligence.

So what does this have with psychology today?

Whilst many of us haven’t studied philosophy, we do however, share core philosophical beliefs. These tenets, even if we don't articulate or label them, shape our principles and faith and guide our judgments and actions. For example, a lot of us wouldn’t identify ourselves as dualists if questioned, yet many of us profess beliefs in heaven, in reincarnation, in supernatural spirits, and so forth. These are dualist beliefs. That is, they all assume that the mind and body are different entities - and that one can exist without the other.

In fact, there is growing evidence that humans are natural-born dualists and what's more, that this natural philosophy has important real-life consequences. One piece of recent work by psychological scientist Matthias Forstmann and his colleagues at the University of Cologne, in Germany examined possible link between philosophy and lifestyle, specifically between dualist beliefs and health consciousness.

Here is their reasoning: Since dualists view the body as separate and independent from the mind, shouldn't they tend to see their bodies as mere vessels, or tools? And if so, dualist thinkers would be expected to be less careful with their bodies, more neglectful of their fitness and health.

Their work is reported in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science, and finds that [laboratory] dualists were less healthy on every measure. They had more reckless attitudes toward health and exercise; they preferred barbecue and dessert cookbooks over organic and vegetarian ones; they ate less nutritional cafeteria meals when given the choice; and they even recalled and described their overall lifestyle as less health-focused. Those considered as physicalist beliefs were the opposite on all these measures.